Optimized and Fast Drilling Technologies for Horizontal Shale Oil Wells in the Cangdong Sag

During the drilling of horizontal shale oil wells in the Cangdong Sag, the low ROP (Rate of Penetration), high safety risk, and uncertain cementing quality impeded the efficient exploration and development of shale oil. To address these problems, investigations were implemented on the detailed prediction of formation leakage pressure and collapse pressure. They were then carried out the optimization of casing programs and borehole trajectories and the personalized design of PDC bits. Further, the matching technologies such as brine drilling fluid, rotary steering drilling, ductile cement slurry, and floating displacement cementing were integrated, forming an optimized and fast drilling technology for the horizontal shale oil wells in the Cangdong Sag. This technology was applied in 20 horizontal shale oil wells in the Cangdong Sag, and the cementing quality was improved by 30.4%. For the wells with a depth of more than 4 500.00 m, the average ROP increased by 20.2%, and the average drilling cycle was shortened by 30.6%. For wells with a depth of lower than 4 500.00 m, the average ROP increased by 82.9%, and the average drilling cycle was shortened by 49.9%. These results demonstrated that the proposed technology could meet the requirement for the optimized and fast drilling of horizontal shale oil wells in the Cangdong Sag, providing a technical means for the efficient exploration and development of horizontal shale oil wells and also a reference for the drilling technology optimization of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs in the oilfields of China.